


It started with a bong

by Humphrey



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-17
Updated: 2013-10-17
Packaged: 2017-12-29 15:13:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Humphrey/pseuds/Humphrey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day the principal finds a bong in his locker, seriously changes Hank’s life. </p><p>His dads are divorcing, the school’s favorite bad boy is in detention with him and people are actually gossiping about him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It started with a bong

He’s been in detention for twenty minutes and Hank still can’t quite believe he’s here. He’s pretty sure that even their supervisor can’t believe he’s here. Mrs. Harrison looked very surprised when he walked in. Hank knows she is dying to know what someone like him could have possibly done to get in here with her regular, tough crowd.

Truth to be told, even Hank himself isn’t completely sure. It’s all a bit of a blur. One minute he was opening his locker and the next he was sitting in front of the principal. Apparently, there had been ‘an incident’ when they did a random locker search and now Hank is in detention for three weeks.

The good news is that the principal was nice enough to make sure it won’t be on his permanent record. But then again, he probably doesn’t believe that Hank is badass enough to put a bong in his locker. And he is very right about that.

Hank knows exactly who does have the balls to bring a bong to school but it’s not like he could tell the principal that. Emma Frost probably warned her boyfriend about the locker search so he could shove his bong in a random locker. Emma always knows about these things in advance since she conveniently works in the office.

Hank sighs, he should stop thinking about why he is here and just make use of the time he has. Thanks to his detention, he has to take the last bus. He tries to focus on his math homework which usually is no problem for him since math is without a doubt his favorite subject (next to science), but for once he just can’t seem to concentrate.

He can’t completely blame himself for that, the guy sitting behind him has to share some of the blame since he keeps poking him with his pencil. Hank refuses to turn around and ask him to stop. He’s dealt with guys like this before and the worst thing you can do is pay attention to them, guys like this thrive on the attention. Which concludes in them paying even more attention to you.

So Hank is set on ignoring on this guy, only 35 minutes to go, it should be a breeze.

Hank is nearly finished with his homework when the guy behind him suddenly whispers in his ear and asks, “So what great crime did you commit?”

He can’t honestly expect Hank to answer him in the middle of detention. Hank stares at Mrs. Harrison, desperately trying to get her attention but she seems much too interested in reading her TV Guide.

So Hank sits still and hopes the guy loses his interest and it appears he does since he stops poking him.

When Mrs. Harrison declares their detention over, Hank nearly runs out of the class. He has to, if he wants to catch his bus.

But since this appears to be the worst day of his life, the bus drives away just as he reaches the stop. And it’s raining.

Hank reluctantly takes out his phone, he really doesn’t want to call his parents but it seems like he has no choice in the matter. He’s just lucky that they’re both so busy that they didn’t have the time to come to school earlier. If the principal had even bothered calling them in the first place. He really must like Hank, or pity him rather.

Hank searches for dad’s number when someone pokes him. He is very proud of himself that he doesn’t scream. He turns around, very carefully, to see that it’s the same guy from detention.

“You never did tell what heinous crime you committed,” the guy smirks.

Now that he is no longer sitting behind him, Hank gets a much clearer picture. He looks exactly like the kind of bad boy you see in movies. He has a leather jacket and everything. Hank swallows, this entire situation is making him very nervous.

“I didn’t really do anything,” he finally says.

The smirking doesn’t stop. “Isn’t that what they all say? But it seems your troubles aren’t over yet,” he says and he points at the empty bus stop. “Do you want a ride?” he offers.

“No thank you,” Hank stammers. “My dad is picking me up, I was just about to call him.”

The guy steps even closer to him. “It’s raining pretty hard, sure you don’t want to make sure your books don’t get damaged. You’ll probably need them in the future.”

“No, seriously, it’s not a problem,” Hank says, he tries to sound a bit more convincing this time. “My dad should be here in no time. But thanks anyway, um, -“ Hank realizes he still has no idea what the poker’s real name is.

“It’s Alex Summers, it was my name you were looking after, right?”

Hank nods, he can’t help being polite and says, “My name is Hank McCoy and I really didn’t commit any heinous crimes.”

Alex laughs, he looks a lot softer when he laughs. For the first time, Hank doesn’t feel completely uncomfortable with him.

“I believe you, Hank, you don’t look like the type to start trouble. But I have a feeling you might like being in trouble.”

Hank is confused, there is certainly nothing he enjoyed about that detention. Then Alex walks away, presumably to get into the car he tried to push Hank in. He really doesn’t understand why Alex was so insistent on giving him a ride. He must have been really excited to see a new face in there. Or maybe he thought Hank could supply him, the whole school must have heard about the bong by now.

That is what really unsettles Hank, because of this stupid thing his name is out there. He’s been walking around pretty anonymously in this school for years and now people are going to start remembering his name. He shudders, they might even want to talk to him, like Alex did.

If only he could ask Emma to announce on the school radio that Hank McCoy isn’t a drug dealer. Although he’s probably worrying about nothing, there are enough stoners at school to keep everyone happy.

In the end he doesn’t call his dad, he calls Raven.

\-----

Aunt Raven arrives fifteen minutes later, at full speed as usual. Hank hurries over to the Porsche she picked out. Raven really likes fast cars, one of the many reasons he usually refuses to get into a car with her. But he really doesn’t feel like bothering his dad with this so he doesn’t really have a choice.

Raven grins when she sees him. “Hank, is there something you need to tell to your Aunt Raven? The reason why you’re so late perhaps.”

“I just missed the bus,” he lies while she starts the car again.

She snorts, “Sure you did. I just happen to know that detention ended not so long ago. Trust me, I’m familiar with Mrs. Harrison’s working hours. Wanna tell me what happened?”

“It was nothing,” Hank says. “A misunderstanding really, they did some random locker search this morning and they found something in mine: a bong.”

Raven’s eyes widen in shock. “How the fuck did that get into your locker, because I know you didn’t put it in there.”

Hank feels quietly relieved that Raven doesn’t doubt the fact that Hank would never be involved in drug related matters. “It was probably Emma Frost’s boyfriend, he’s the captain of the football team so it’s understandable that he doesn’t want to get caught with illegal material.”

“I don’t understand how you can be so calm about all of this. If someone framed me, I’d be hell-bent on getting revenge. No mercy. This isn’t going on your permanent record right? Not that Harvard would ever refuse you but still.”

“No, the principal assured me he wouldn’t do that, I don’t think he really believes that I’m a drug user.”

Raven smiles again. “You’re without a doubt the best kid in that school, I’m sure he didn’t doubt you for a second. Would you look at that, we’re home.” She turns to Hank. “What are you going to tell your dad?”

“I don’t know, I know how busy he is with work at the moment. He probably won’t even notice if I get home late for a couple of weeks.”

“Wow, how much detention did you get?”

“Three weeks,” Hank tells her.

“Right, I can pick you up for most of the week. Maybe this will finally motivate you to get your driver’s license.”

“I doubt it,” Hank says. He hates driving.

“I’m not going to tell Charles anything,” she decides. “It’s not like you did anything wrong and knowing my brother he would just storm into the principal’s office and rant until you get five weeks of detention. Unless he makes a generous donation of course.”

“No, I don’t want that,” Hank says through gritted teeth. He doesn’t need anyone at school to know that his dad is a billionaire. It would only create a lot of unwanted attention. “I’ll just do the time even if I didn’t do the crime. It’s not a big deal.”

Raven carefully looks at him, like she’s determined to figure him out. She seems to give up after a while and steps out of the car. Together, they walk inside the Xavier mansion.

Raven calls for her brother but he doesn’t answer. Hank just goes to his room, he still has an essay to write after all. English is not his strong suit.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Aunt Raven calls out.

“I’ll eat later, I just need to finish something first,” he says and he hurries to his room.

The truth is he really doesn’t want to talk to his dad right now. Things are still a bit awkward between them at the moment. Another reason why he doesn’t want to inform his dad about his detention. Thank God, Aunt Raven is on his side.

Hank lets himself fall into his bed, it really has been a miserable day. Suddenly, he’s really tired and his eyes starts to close.

Oddly, the last thing he thinks about before he falls asleep is Alex’s face when he told Hank he would like being in trouble.

\-----

Hank is asleep for an hour and when he wakes up, he’s suddenly very hungry. Hank walks down the stairs until he reaches the kitchen. He yawns while he opens the fridge, he knows Francesca made dinner. He’s relieved when he manages to retrieve a plate. While he heats it up, his dad walks into the kitchen.

Hank is disappointed to see that Raven isn’t with him. “Hey, dad,” he says.

His dad’s whole face brightens when he sees him. “Hank, I’m glad you’re home. According to Raven, you’ve joined some kind of science club, is that true?”

Hank seriously loves his aunt, he has to find her a very nice birthday present. “Something like that, I don’t know if I’m going to stick with it, maybe it’s not my thing.”

“You should totally continue,” his dad says, he sounds very excited. Hank starts to feel really guilty about lying to him. Especially since he knows that his dad is always worried about the fact that Hank has no friends at school.

“I’ll do my best,” is all he says. Maybe he really will try to join a science club, at least it manages to put a smile on his dad’s face again. He used to be the most cheerful man Hank had ever seen, right until that other incident.

“So what else is new? Did you hear any interesting gossip, according to tv, lots of interesting things happen in high school.”

Hank’s dinner is finished and he grabs a knife and fork before he sits down. “I don’t think so. I did talk to someone who could be interesting.”

“Oh,” his dad sounds excited again, and sits down next to him. “Who is it? And what stereotype does he belong to? As long as it’s not the quarterback, they’re always evil.”

“It’s not the quarterback, I guess he’s more like the bad boy.”

His dad whistles. “Ah, I’m very familiar with that type. Be careful, son, they always manage to leave a trail of broken hearts.”

“Um, I’m not planning on having my heart broken any time soon,” Hanks says with full confidence.

“It’s not exactly something you plan, kid, sometimes it just happens,” he says wistfully.

To distract him, Hank asks him how his new experiment is going. He sounds a lot more cheerful, work always cheers him up.

But he doesn’t miss the fact that he still looks a bit sad, he always looks a bit sad these days.

\------

Hank wakes up the next morning when his phone won’t stop ringing. He picks up without checking who it is, only three people have this number anyway.

“Hank, I’m going to pick you up after school for our dinner. I’m too busy this weekend.”

Hank sits up quickly and rubs his eyes. Crap, he totally forgot about his father.

“Hank, are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here,” Hank confirms. “And you can’t pick me up after school today,” he blurts out. “I mean, I’ve got science club today.”

“Science club,” his father repeats, he sounds very pleased. Seriously, Aunt Raven deserves a nice Christmas present too. “Well I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of your club. How much later do I need to pick you up?”

“It takes about an hour,” Hank answers.

“Alright, I’ll see you then. Stay out of trouble, kid.”

“Sure, father,” he says. He instantly relaxes now that their phone call is over. There is no way his father will ever find out the truth.

\-----

It’s clear that the rumor mill has done its job today. Several people who usually ignore Hank, can’t help but stare him. Hank has never felt more uncomfortable, he really doesn’t like all this attention, it’s not like he actually did anything.

When he arrives at his locker, he finds out that someone is waiting for him. A girl, Hank thinks her name is Moira, she’s part of Emma’s crowd.

She looks bored waiting until she spots Hank, then she starts smiling. Which means Hank can’t subtly retreat like he planned. He just has no idea why someone like Moira would want to talk to him.

“Hello, Hank,” Moira says, as if they talk all the time.

Hank smiles, he hopes he doesn’t look too frightening. “Hello, Moira.”

“I’m glad you’re here, I’ve been waiting for you for a while now. I totally forgot you take the bus. I just wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday.”

 She sounds very serious, Hank has no doubt what she wants to talk about now. He really hopes she doesn’t want to be his first customer.

“It wasn’t mine,” he clarifies.

“Of course it wasn’t,” she says, like Hank just told her a big joke. “This is all Seb’s fault, he’s the one idiotic enough to take his bong to his school. Seriously, he’s very stupid, I don’t know why Emma likes him. But I guess love works in mysterious ways. I just wanted to tell you that Emma’s really sorry she’s such a dipshit, she feels awful about all the detention you got. She owes you,” Moira says gravely.

“Ok,” is all Hank says to that.

“Like, seriously owes you,” she emphasizes. “So if you need a favor, tell me right now and I’ll make it happen.”

Hank has probably watched The Godfather too many times but this is all starting to sound a bit too mafia like for him. “I think I’m good. But I’ll let you know when I think of something.”

Moira smiles again, she really does have a nice smile. “Give me your phone, I’ll put in my number so you can call me whenever.”

Now Hank is starting to grow suspicious, why would one of the most popular girls in school want his number? He still gives her phone because he doesn’t want to be unnecessary rude. After she’s finished putting in her number, she calls herself so she has Hank’s number too.

“All done,” she says and gives him his phone back. “Remember, whenever and wherever, Hank McCoy.”

 Then she walks away, leaving a very confused Hank behind.

\-----

The rest of his day is very boring in comparison. At this point he doesn’t even mind detention, he’s dreading his dinner with his father too much. Ever since his parents separated, things have been really awkward with his father, even worse than with his dad. But his dad has always been easier to talk with. He’s the one who actually explained that they decided to separate, and the one to tell him that this wasn’t his fault in any way.

Hank isn’t completely sure about that, he knows his parents used to fight a lot about him. He’s not exactly a great son, especially not for his father who probably wanted a son who’s a bit tougher than a geek like Hank. But according to his dad, they shouldn’t push him to socialize.

Sometimes Hank just wants to scream at them and tell them that he does want friends, he just doesn’t want to make them in high school. Only two more years and he’ll finally be in college, that’s where he will find people like him. He just can’t talk to kids his own age, his conversation with Moira was proof of that.

Hank is so distracted by all of this that he sits down without thinking in the detention room. With Alex Summers right behind him. Hank seriously hates high school.

An hour passes and there’s not a single poke, Hank doesn’t know if he should be relieved or suspicious. Maybe Alex is planning on beating him up once they leave school. He’s probably being paranoid. It doesn’t matter anyway, no one is stupid enough to take on Erik Lehnsherr. If he hadn’t raised him, he’s exactly the kind of guy Hank would cross the street for.

Still he isn’t too surprised when Alex grabs him by the arm when their detention is finished. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride,” Alex says, he couldn’t sound more arrogant if he tried.

“No thank you,” Hank refuses politely. “My father should be here very soon.”

Alex rolls his eyes. “That’s exactly what you said yesterday but when I drove away you were still standing there. Waiting like some abandoned puppy. Do you live on the streets or something?”

“Of course not,” Hank says, he can’t help but sounds a bit indignant. “Yesterday, my aunt picked me up, she’s not exactly the most punctual person. But my father is and he’ll arrive in exactly two minutes.”

Hank can tell Alex doesn’t believe a word he’s saying, not that it matters, he will be proven right soon enough.

“I’ll just wait with you then. By the way, I heard about your bong, quite impressive. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“It wasn’t mine,” Hank snaps. “I mean, I don’t do drugs,” he adds.

Alex doesn’t seem very shocked by this revelation. “I didn’t exactly peg you as a big time user, but if you need any tips, look no further than our detention room.”

“I don’t belong in that detention room,” Hank sulks.

“No, you really don’t,” Alex says, he sounds uncharacteristically serious. “Look on the bright side, at least Emma Frost owes you big time. I wouldn’t exactly have a problem cashing in on that, she has all kinds of connections.”

“How do you know Emma Frost?” Hank asks.

“Oh, we’re not exactly exchanging friendship braids, but we’re familiar enough. I’m a regular at the principal’s office after all,” Alex explains. He doesn’t get a chance to say anything else, because that’s when Hank’s father arrives. He brought the Bentley, his family could never be accused of being modest.

Alex whistles, clearly impressed. “Definitely not living on the streets. See you later, Hank.”

“Bye, Alex,” Hank says without thinking. He still has no idea why Alex Summers is _socializing_ with him all of a sudden.

Hank quickly walks over to the car. His father glares at him and asks him, “Who was that guy you were talking to?”

“His name is Alex and he’s the one who started talking to me. He’s also in my science club,” he lies.

“He doesn’t exactly look like the type,” his father answers, still glaring at Hank.

Hank shrugs. “Well, I guess you shouldn’t use stereotypes. Where are we going anyway?”

“I thought we could go to my place, you haven’t been there yet.”

He doesn’t mention the fact that Hank declined his previous invitations because he doesn’t want his father to have his ‘own place’. Hank doesn’t say a single thing during the entire car ride.

He’s not very surprised to see that his dad’s new place is a penthouse, it suits him really. You wouldn’t expect any less from someone who rules the publishing world.

Hank throws himself in a couch, it’s not very comfortable since it’s one of those super fancy ones.

“So what would you like to eat?” his father asks.

“I’m not really in the mood for anything. Do whatever you want.”

His father doesn’t really respond and goes into the kitchen while Hank starts doing his homework. He’s not in the mood for talking either.

That doesn’t stop his father from trying to start several conversations during dinner but to no avail. He gives up after a while and focuses on eating his dinner. When they’re finally finished, he suggests Hank stays here, in his new room.

“But I don’t have any of my stuff here,” Hank argues. “I think I’d better go home.”

“This is your home too, Hank,” he says, he’s starting to sound frustrated. “I know this whole situation has been difficult for you but you’re my son too and there’s always going to be a place for you here.”

“This is never going to be my home,” Hank snorts. “This stupid, fancy penthouse.”

“Ah yes, compared to the mansion you grew up in, I can see how this place can be considered to be too fancy. You’re being really immature about this, Hank.”

“I’m being immature!” Hank shouts. “You’re the one who is immature, you’re the one who left me!”

“That is not true,” his dad says very calmly. “We’ve already talked to you about this, this divorce has nothing do with you.”

“You haven’t talked to me about the divorce, dad’s the one who explained everything to me. You just left and I want to know why. Are you having an affair?” he accuses him.

The last thing Hank expected was that his father would burst out in laughter, but that’s exactly what happens. “I’m sorry, but that’s just ridiculous. I would never cheat on your dad, Hank.”

“So if you’re not having an affair, and you’re not arguing about me, then what are you arguing about?”

“I’m not obligated to discuss my love life with my sixteen-year-old son. Now, sit down so we can have a real conversation.”

“Since you seem to like being alone so much, you can talk to yourself. I’m not staying here,” Hank says resolutely and before his father can stop him, he’s out the door.

It only takes ten minutes on the bus before he realizes that this was an incredibly stupid idea. Which is very unlike him, Hank tends to think things through before he acts. He blames his detention, all kinds of strange things have happened since then.

He takes out his phone to call his Aunt Raven, but then realizes that he really doesn’t want to see any more family members today so he calls Moira instead. For once, he’s taking a risk.

He meets up with Moira in a McDonalds, she enters about twenty minutes after their call.

“Hank, I’m so glad you called,” she says, and she gives him a quick hug. Suddenly, Hank begins to wonder if he didn’t make a huge mistake. She doesn’t seem to pick up on his discomfort and continues talking, “Sean is just parking the car, he should be here any minute.”

“Who’s Sean?”

“My boyfriend of course,” she laughs. “He’s also on the football team, but I promise he’s not a douche.”

Hanks smiles, he can’t believe he was ever conceited enough to think that someone like Moira would be interested in someone like him.

“So what about you? Are you dating anyone?” she asks, she actually seems curious.

“Um, no,” he says. Who on earth would he be dating?

“I knew it,” she says. “There is this rumor going around school that you were making out with Alex Summers, but I knew it wasn’t true. I wish our school would gossip a bit less.”

“I don’t understand, why would I be making out with Alex Summers? Isn’t he like, totally straight?”

She frowns. “Wow, you really don’t know who he is. Ok, I’ll try to give you the full scoop before Sean arrives.” She scoots closer to him. “Alex totally dates guys, he’s bisexual. Which isn’t a big deal of course, but a couple of months ago he was caught having sex in a supply closet with Bobby Peters. And that was a big deal since Bobby Peters is the captain of the abstinence club.”

Hank really doesn’t know how to deal with this information.

“Bobby’s parents pulled him out of school and Alex got like a month of detention. But he’s always in detention so I don’t think he really cares. It’s too bad about Bobby, he was a nice guy.”

“I don’t understand why they were having sex at school,” Hank stammers.

She shrugs and says, “That was the only place Alex could seduce him, I guess. It’s hardly the first time he goes after someone he can’t have. He used to have a thing with Emma too. Anyway, I just wanted to warn you that you’d better stay away from him, he’s bad news.” She giggles. “God, I’m starting to sound like your mother.”

“I don’t have a mother,” Hanks says absently. He doesn’t know why he feels so disappointed that Alex really is a bad boy and he doesn’t just act like one.

Since Moira can’t read his mind, she addresses the mom answer. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Hank, I had no idea.”

“I’m sorry, I should have been more clear. I’ve never had a mom, I’m adopted. I have two dads.”

Her face brightens again. “That’s great! Not that you’re adopted but I was scared you were going to say that your mom died last week or something. Oh look, there’s Sean.”

Sean waves at them and then joins their table. He kisses Moira and says hello to Hank. “It’s nice to meet you, Hank.”

“Likewise,” Hank answers. He’s meeting a lot of new people these days.

They talk for a while, well it’s mostly Moira who does the talking, but it doesn’t take long before Hank’s phone keeps ringing incessantly. His father must have called his dad, at least they talked for the first time in ages.

“Sorry, it’s my dad,” he says to Moira and Sean. “He’s probably wondering why I’m not home yet.”

“Do you want me to drive you home?” Sean suggests.

“No thank you,” Hank replies, “I’ll just take the bus later.”

\-----

Two hours later, Hank is in fact standing at a bus stop but once again there is no sign of an actual bus. He texted his dad earlier that everything’s fine so he would stop calling him, but now he isn’t so sure anymore. He’s not exactly in the nice part of town.

Hank sighs, it was really stupid of him to refuse Sean’s offer in the first place. He’s not exactly making rational decisions today. He just can’t help being hesitant about showing people where he lives. He’s just decided to bite the bullet and call his dad when someone pokes him.

He quickly turns around and nearly smiles when he turns around to find Alex standing there.

“What brings you here?” Alex asks. “Last time I saw you, you were stepping inside a Bentley and now you’re in the bad part of town.”

“I just hung out with some of my friends, and now it seems I’ve missed my bus, again.”

“Yeah, public transportation doesn’t seem to be very fond of you. So are you finally going to take me up on that offer, would you like a ride?”

“Yes, I would, thank you,” Hank answers, surprising even himself. Weirdly, now that he knows Alex is bad news, he feels a lot more comfortable with him. It’s always nice to know what you can expect. Hank has always liked it when things are predictable.

When Alex asks him for directions, Hank gives him his aunt’s address, he’s really not in the mood for another divorce talk with his dad tonight.

Too bad, Raven doesn’t know that since she didn’t stay home tonight.

“Anywhere else I can take you, I’ve got a spare room at my house,” Alex offers.

“Sure, why not, if you’re offering,” Hank says.

“Are you serious?” Alex asks disbelievingly. “You do know what they say about me.”

“Yes, Moira filled me in about all of that, but I don’t care. As long as you really do have a spare room.”

“I solemnly swear I do. I have to warn you that I live with my brother but he usually doesn’t bother asking questions.”

“Ok, then let’s go.”

Hank is starting to think that everything since his first principal visit must have been some dream because this is not his life. Hank Xavier is not the kind of boy who jumps into cars with known bad boys. And he also doesn’t run away from his father after a fight. What is he even doing? He should just ask Alex to turn the car around and take him home, even if that means Alex finds out that he’s a Xavier.

“I can see you worrying from here,” Alex says.

“You should be paying attention to the road, if you’re a responsible driver,” Hank says.

“Me, I’m always very responsible,” Alex says, which he demonstrates by letting go of the steering wheel.

“Are you insane!” Hank yells. “Don’t ever do that again!”

“Relax, I just wanted you to stop looking so worried for a minute. For someone with no life, you seem to have a lot of problems.”

“Is that supposed to be an insult?” Hanks asks him, “because it’s not very impressive. You could have used my glasses as ammunition or my freakishly large feet or –“

Alex cuts off his speech, “Dude, I just wanted you to relax, I’m going to a very responsible driver for the next ten minutes, I promise.”

“Are you sure it won’t damage your reputation?”

“I don’t give a shit about my reputation,” Alex grins. “Something we seem to have in common. Now, get out of the car so you can admire my wonderful spare room.”

Since Alex lives with his brother, Hank kind of figured they would be living in an apartment or something. But no, when he checks out his surroundings, Hank finds himself in front of a completely ordinary house. It actually looks like a house in one of the brochures titled: where to raise the perfect family.

“Are you going to stay here all night or are you going to come in?” Alex finally asks.

Hank decides to follow Alex inside, no matter how nice the neighborhood looks, he prefers a roof over his head.

“Scott, are you in here?” Alex shouts very loudly. There’s no answer. “We’re in the clear. If you’re hungry, we can go the kitchen first.”

“I’m fine, I’ve eaten already,” Hank says. “If you don’t mind, I would like to go to sleep, if it’s not a bother of course.”

“You’re very proper, aren’t you? Follow me up the stairs.”

Hank does exactly as he he’s told and he definitely doesn’t use this opportunity to check out Alex’s ass, that would be very wrong.

Alex points at the furthest door. “That’s the room you can stay in, I’m not expecting my brother to come home tonight, he’s got a new girlfriend and he doesn’t like to take her here,” he says conspiratorially. “I’m going to go back downstairs but I’m sure you’ll know what to do.”

“Wait, before you leave, why are you doing this? I mean, you hardly know me, it’s not like we’re friends.”

“I figured you could use a distraction and I’m very good at distracting people.”

“So you do want to sleep with me?”

Alex looks very taken aback, then he starts laughing. “And that’s the real reason I brought you here, you’re very unpredictable for someone who looks so very predictable.”

“I like it when things are predictable and I feel like I should tell you that I have no interest in having sex with you in a supply closet. One detention is more than enough.”

“Moira really did fill you in,” Alex says, he sounds disappointed. “You were probably one of the few people in school who didn’t know. Listen, I have no intention of luring you into a supply closet. I know you probably think I’m some creep-“

“I don’t think you’re a creep at all,” Hank assures him. “You’ve been very nice to me, except for the poking. And I shouldn’t have asked that, it was very presumptuous of me to assume that you would even be interested in me. I’ll just go now.”

Alex stops him. “What if I was interested? How would you respond to that.”

“Trust me, you’re really not interested in me, you can do so much better.”

“Yes, I can do so much better than the cute, brilliant and funny son of Charles Xavier.”

All Hank hears is the way Alex casually drops his dad’s name. “Wait, you know Charles Xavier is my father. How could you possibly know that?”

The frustration on Alex’s face disappears and is replaced with apologeticness. “My brother works for your dad’s company, I once saw your picture at the office.”

“So that is the real reason you brought me here,” Hank spits out. “Not because you like me or wanted to help me, but because I’m Charles Xavier’s son. This was such a mistake.” Hank storms out and Alex chases after him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it’s not like you’re all that honest in the first place. Why do you even use a fake name at school?”

“For your information, it’s not a fake name, it’s the name of my birth mother. And the reason I use it at school is because my dad has always been determined to let me live a normal childhood at a regular school. He didn’t want to send me to some fancy private school. Once word gets out that you’re the son of a billionaire, you attract some unwanted attention. You’re living proof of that.”

“Hank, I might have started talking to you because you’re Xavier’s kid but that’s not the reason I kept talking to you.”

“I don’t care, Alex, I’m calling my dad now and I’m waiting on the front porch until he gets here. Just don’t talk to me, alright.”

Alex nods and doesn’t follow him anymore.

\-----

His dad didn’t say a word to him on the way home. Hank is excepting him to start his interrogation any minute now.

“So where exactly were you planning on staying tonight?”

“At Alex Summers’s house,” Hank tells him. “His brother Scott works for you.”

“Yes, I do recall a Scott Summers but as far as I know you don’t know an Alex Summers. At least not well enough to spend the night at his house. What were you thinking, Hank! Have you got any idea how worried we were about you. You can’t just storm out of your dad’s house without paying any attention to the consequences.”

“I want to know why you’re divorcing, tell me the truth, I’m not a kid.”

“I think tonight you’ve proven that you’re still very much a kid,” he says, exasperated. “I’m sorry, Hank, but I can’t just give you a neat explanation. But you should know that you did inadvertently cause your father and I to seriously talk for the first time in a very long time. Because that is the most important thing, we stopped talking. And now I’m afraid that you’re going to stop talking to me as well.”

“You could never me lose, dad,” Hank promises. “And it was very stupid of me to run away from dad’s penthouse, I won’t do it again. And I’ll never go to Alex’s house again either. He’s an asshole.”

There is a vague smile on his dad’s face for the first time in their conversation. “You’d better not, not until I run a background check on him first. If he really is your first boyfriend, he should be trustworthy.”

“He’s not going to be my boyfriend. I might have liked him a little bit,” Hank confesses, “from a purely aesthetic point, but he knows that I’m your son and he didn’t say anything about it to me. It’s the only reason he started talking to me in the first place.”

“Perhaps you underestimate him, you’ll have plenty of time to think about it since you’re grounded for the next two weeks.”

Detention _and_ being grounded, in what kind of alternate universe has Hank landed himself in?

\------

The next few weeks, his life returns to its normal state. He and Alex ignore each other in detention, everyone gossips about the Seb/Emma breakup so he’s officially old news and Hank is once again the perfect student. Moira and Sean do become genuine friends and Emma Frost still owes him a favor but overall Hank is pretty pleased with his school life.

There are even some improvements in his home life. Ever since he ran away from his father’s penthouse, his parents have been determined to present an united front. So from now on, his father has dinner at the mansion with Hank and his dad.

One night, his father couldn’t stop laughing after his dad told a joke. According to Hank, it wasn’t really that funny but he was very excited that his parents were smiling at each other again.

Sitting in his very last detention, Hank feels it was worth it. Especially since his parents still have no idea about his detention. So Hank is pretty proud of himself until someone pokes him. He turns around and sure enough it’s Alex again. He doesn’t look remotely sorry, on the contrary, he has the most arrogant smile on his face Hank has ever seen.

“Stop it,” Hank warns him.

Alex merely grins and he doesn’t actually say anything but for the next thirty minutes, Hank can’t concentrate on his essay since he keeps getting poked. But he also doesn’t want to bring Mrs. Harrison into this, he’s quietly hoping that he never has to talk to her again. So he just counts the minutes until his final detention is over and then he runs out of there.

Alex runs after him.

“Would you please stop running? I just want to talk you before your hot aunt shows up.”

Hank does stop running, but only to say, “Please, don’t call my aunt hot. It’s gross.”

“Don’t worry, she’s not my type, I’ve got my eye on someone else in the family.”

“Alex, I don’t know how I can make it any more obvious that I’m not interested in playing games with you. I’m not like that Bobby.”

“Thank God for that. Listen, I know you don’t exactly trust me, but could you please give me another chance. I never did get the chance to ask you out.”

Hank blushes, completely against his will. “I don’t know, maybe I did exaggerate a bit about the whole Xavier thing, it’s just that people have tried this before. Become friends with me to get closer to my dad, thinking that I’ll give them money to stay my friend.”

“I’m not interested in either one of your dads or your aunt. Ok, this is going to make me sound like the biggest dork and I’m totally sacrificing my bad reputation, but the truth is that when I first saw your picture, I got a little crush on you. That’s why I asked my brother what your name was and why I started poking you.”

“Your story doesn’t make any sense, why would you get a crush on me after seeing my picture? Have you seen the rest of my family, I’m not exactly photogenic compared to them.”

“I guess I just have a thing for stupidly smart, cute boys with glasses. Just like you have a thing for tough blondes in leather jackets.”

“You’re so not my type,” Hank says defensively.

“And yet you can’t stop thinking about me, isn’t that right?”

“You might be correct in making that assumption,” Hank admits.

“Then would you please do me the honor of going on a date with me, I’ll get on my knees if I have to.”

“There is no need for that, I’ll go on a date with you,” Hank says.

“Awesome, I’ll text you once I get your number.”

“I could just give it to you now,” Hank points out.

“Don’t bother, I have my ways, I like to be mysterious.”

\-----

“I still can’t believe that Alex Summers is your boyfriend and that I’m actually at your birthday party.”

Hank can’t really disagree with Emma, it is quite weird that she’s at his house but it was Moira’s idea. She’s quite convinced that he and Emma would be awesome friends. Time will tell but at the moment they’re not very convinced.

But Hank can honestly say that this is the best birthday he’s ever had. Actually the past three months have been pretty amazing. Alex made sure not to get a single detention since his last one finished, which means they have more time to make out. Hank does insist that they avoid school grounds.

And the last three months he hasn’t heard anyone mention the dreaded D-word. In fact, last night he caught his father in the kitchen in the middle of the night and he didn’t get the impression he was sleeping in one of the guest rooms.

Suddenly he’s enveloped in one of his Aunt Raven big hugs. “You shouldn’t be worrying this much on your birthday.”

“I’m not worrying, I was just thinking about my dads, do you think-?”

“Oh, they are so doing it again,” Raven says.

“Eww, no need to get into detail, but you don’t think I’m crazy to think they might get back together?”

“If there is one thing I know about Charles and Erik, it’s that they have always been crazy about each other. Speaking of Eric, shouldn’t you rescue your boyfriend out of his clutches?”

Hank shrugs. “It’s better that he learns how crazy my dads are, it avoids problems in the future.”

“I still can’t believe they never found out about your little drug problem,” Raven laughs.

“Hmm, I think I might be interested in hearing more about this ‘drug problem’.”

Crap, next time he and Raven gossip they should be paying more attention if anyone is standing right behind them.

“Well, dad, it’s kind of a long story, but it does have an happy ending.”


End file.
